Room deodorizer



Oct. 23, 1951 C. C. FOSTER ROOM DEODORIZER Filed Aug. 21, 1948 CLYDE C O$TER INVENTOR.

Patented Oct. 23, 1951 UNITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE- ROOM DEODORIZER Clyde C. Foster, Decatur, 111.

Application August 21, 1948, Serial No. 45,510

6 Claims. (Cl. 29920) This invention relates to deodorizers and more particularly to such devices that are used for overcoming offensive and obnoxious odors in a room or other space by giving of a corrective emanation with pleasant aroma from a delivery element of some characteristic absorbent material, a part of which is immersed usually in a specially prepared scented liquid contained in a bottle, jar or other receptacle.

The invention. has to do especially with a stopper or closure element of absorbent felted material for covering the mouth opening of the bottle, jar or receptacle containing the deodorizing liquid, with a conductively attached wick element of appreciable length extending well down in the contained liquid to the bottom of the receptacle, preferably with excess length to the wick element sov that it not only touches the bottom of the receptacle but is turned tortuously partially folded or otherwise flexed and shaped between its ends and the. supporting stopper or closure element,

The main object of the invention is to improve generally upon deodorizing devices by sim-- plifying the construction and arrangement at a minimized cost of production and at the same time increasing the eifectiveness of the device.

Illustrative adaptations of the invention, without any intended limitation thereto, are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view in vertical section of a jar type or wide-mouthed bottle type of receptacle to contain the deodorizing liquid, with the regular closure cap removed but a felt. stopper element of the present invention being shown in place in the receptacle neck in section and& the wick element shown in elevation except its upper portion where attached to the stopper element which is shown in section;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the felt stopper and wick element held together as a. unit, flattened out and extended; and removed from the receptacle;

Figure 3 is a showing of a receptacle in vertical section, with the regular closure cap in place thereon, also in section, and a modified form of felt stopper element and associated wick element in elevation in place in the receptacle;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the modified unit of felt stopper element and associated wick element alone; and- Figure 5 is a plan view of the metal cupelement for the felt stopper element of the modification shown in Figures 3 and 4.

The more preferred and generally adopted ures 1 and 2. However, the modified form shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, has a. feature of merit and this form may also be used to good advantage in practice.

Referring first to Figures '1 and 3 of the drawings, the numeral l0 designates an ordinary glass receptacle of the cylindrical bodied jaw type or wide-mouthed bottle type, the same provided with a regular screw-cap ll of metal or other suitable material, as shown ap lied in Figure 3 but removed in Figure l. receptacle, of

course, as far as the present invention is con cerned, may be made of plastic or any other desirable or approved material.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2 in particular, the numeral l2 designates a fiat disc-like stopper element of felt, compacted cotton or other fiber, massed into a body of ample but not excessive thickness, whereby to bev appreciably self-supporting and form-retentive, yet. comparatively soft enough .to be ideally absorbent to readilly take into it theiliquid brought up from below in the receptacle In by absorption and capillary attraction in a wick. element I3 attached intimately and with conductivity to its under side and immersed in the liquid contained in the receptacles.

The wick l3, as shown, is in an elongated, flat, flexible strip and it is fastened to the under side of the stopper element I2 by a cotter type metal fastener such as, for example, an ordinary longitudinally-splitstemmed paper fastener 14 inserted downwardly at the center of said element I2, with the head ['5 of the fastener tight against the top surface of the element l2 and. the: lower end portions of the fastener turned apart and bent up in opposite directions against the'under side of the attached wick element, as at [6.

The wick element I3 is preferably somewhat longer in length on each side of the-fastener l4 than the depth of the container 10- so that, with the tip ends of the wick touching the bottom of the. receptacle (see Figure 1) the wick body is flexed in opposite directions or turned out of a straight line between the: bottom of, the receptacle and the underside of the stopper element 52. This assures an ample absorption or liquid in the wick element l-3 to keep the stopper element [2 well supplied with the liquid.

The diameter of the stopper element I2 is, obviously, such that, when the element is forced into the neck of the container H), the element" will stay so placed by reaction of its inherent resilience; However, inasmuch as" the interior of the neck or mouth of the container is usually upwardly flared to an appreciable degree, the poripheral face of stopper element l2 is accordingly tapered downwardly so that the stopper element is more assuredl retained in place and can be forced downwardly into the receptacle below the neck only if excessive pressure is applied on top of the stopper element.

With the unitary assembly of stopper element 12 and wick element l3 applied as indicated in Figure l, and as hereinafter described, it is evi dent that the liquid in the container is constantly lifted by the wick element, whence it is taken into the stopper element and then given off by evaporation from the stopper element into the room space or other place where the device is used. Hence, if the liquid in the container is scented and especially chemically characterized, the aroma of the emanation given off obviously overcomes objectionable odors and purifies the air in the room.

In order to increase the effectiveness of the deodorization in using the device of the present invention, the stopper element [2 is provided with a multiplicity of apertures 11 therein. These apertures are of appreciable diameters and they thus provide'increased surfaces to give off the deodorizing aroma to a far greater degree than if only the top face of the stopper element is effective.

In Figures 3, 4 and 5, a modification of the device is shown. In this modification the stopper element l2 and the wick element 13 are substantially the same as those parts shown in Figures 1 and 2. The only difference is that, in the present modification, there is provided a reinforcing cup element I8, preferably made of a suitable non-corrosive metal, although the same may be formed of any other desired or approved material possessing the requisite stiffness and certain inherent resiliency.

As shown, the cup element [8 is generally circular and pan-like in form, that is, it has a flat bottom and slightly upwardly flared side wall portions so that stopper element 12 just fits therein. At diametrically opposite places the adjacent side wall and bottom portions of said cup element l8 are cut away and notched, as at l9, to permit the portions of the wick element l3 on opposite sides of the central fastener element M to pass freely therethrough.

In this modification (see Figures 3 and 4) the middle portion of the wick element [3 is disposed between the under side of the stopper element l2 and the top face of the bottom of the cup element [8, and the headed fastener element 4 is applied like it is in the first described adaptation of the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2, except that, instead of the lower end portions of the split stem of the fastener being turned apart and bent up directly against the under face of the stopper element l2, said fastener end portions are inserted through a central aperture 20 provided in the bottom of the cup element 18 and then bent back against the outer face of said cup element 18, as at 2| (see Figures 4 and of the drawings).

From the foregoing, it is evident that the device of the present invention is not only simple in construction and arrangement, and inexpensive to manufacture, but it is especially efficient and effective in use, particularly because of the maximum expanse of the exposed top surface of the characteristically absorbent stopper element 1? which obviously gives off more corrective emanation and aroma than is possible from a smaller wick element alone and in a narrower necked bottle type of container, even when such wick element is withdrawn to considerable length from the mouth of the container as is the usual practice in the use of the heretofore generally provided deodorizer.

It is further noted, therefore, that the stopper element l2 of the present invention being set flush within the neck portion of the container or with its top face just a very short distance below the edge of the container mouth, departs from the unsightly and unattractive appearance of the ordinarily used and necessarily extended wick to give off ample vapor and corrective aroma to kill the objectionable and obnoxious odors in the room space. Moreover, while the neck portion of the container [0 is usually round, the body of the container may be square or of some special polygonal shape, or even formed cylindrically, and. in any case, the crosswise proportions of the container are such that the liability of the container toppling over is greatly minimized as compared to the usually used taller and narrower-necked bottle with its wick element extended excessively beyond the bottle.

There is a meritorious advantage in the provision of the through-apertures ll of the stopper element, as these apertures present increased effective surfaces for giving off the corrective emanation and aroma in addition to the comparatively large area of the top surface of the stopper member l2. For this reason the form of the invention as shown in Figures 1 and 2 is preferred and found more efiicient because nearly all of the apertures H are open throughout the extent thereof and at both top and bottom, whereas, in the modification shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, the cup element l8 covers and closes all the apertures IT at the bottom thereof. However, even with the lower ends of the apertures closed by the cup element I8, the apertures are still open at their upper ends, and, of course, the

interior surfaces of the apertures appreciably augment the effectiveness of the top surface of the relatively large stopper element 12.

There is an especial advantage in the use of the cup element 18, in that the stopper element may be formed with lesser density and compactness, in which case it might not have dependable inherent self-supporting and form-retentive quality and the cup element then serves as an effective reinforcement. In this respect the cutting away or notching of the wall of the cup element, as indicated at 19, not only makes clearance spaces for the wick element on opposite sides of the fastener 14 which secures the wick to the stopper element, but the wall portions of said cup element l8 may yield somewhat inwardly when inserting the stopper element into the neck part of the container, whence it expands and reacts, by reason of its inherent resiliency, to hold in place and thereby afford ample support for the disc-like absorbent body of the stopper.

Obviously, while the two illustrated modifications are practical adaptations of the invention, further modification and change is possible, and even contemplated within the scope of the appended claims. The invention, therefore, is not limited to the specific construction and arrangement shown in the accompanying drawings.

What is claimed is:

-1. A deodorizer comprising an open-mouthed container, a disc-like absorbent stopper element to-fit supportedly in and close the mouth openelement secured at its middle with conductivity to practically the complete under side of said disc-like element and extended at length downward from the disc-like stopper element for immersion in a liquid in the container, whereby the liquid is taken up by the wick element, absorbed by the disc-like stopper element and given 01f as an emanation overcoming objectionable odor in room space or the like.

2. A deodorizer as set forth in claim 1, wherein the disc-like stopper element is apertured with a series of openings through its thickness adjacent its peripheral edge to provide exposed surface in addition to its top surface for giving off emanation from the element.

3. A combined dispensing stopper and wick element for the liquid container of a deodorizer, the same comprising a fiat disc-like absorbent body as the stopper and an elongated wick element attached at its middle to the under side of the stopper, with the free length of said wick element extended from opposite sides of its fastened middle portion.

4. A combined dispensing stopper and wick element as set forth in claim 1, wherein the fastening for the wick element comprises a headed pin with longitudinally split stem inserted downward through the stopper body and through the wick element itself, and the lower end portions of the pin are spread apart and bent back upon the adjacent under side of the wick element, to hold the wick element into contact with a large under surface of the absorbent stopper.

5. A combined dispensing stopper and wick element as set forth in claim 3, wherein the stopper body is apertured through the thickness thereof to provide increased exposed surface in addition to the top face of the body to give off emanation from the stopper.

6. A combined dispensing stopper and wick element for the liquid container of a deodorizer, the same comprising a flat disc-like absorbent body as the stopper, and an elongated wick element with its middle portion held supported1y beneath the under side of said absorbent stopper body, the middle portion of the wick element being fastened to the absorbent stopper bottom, the free and unattached length of the wick element extending from opposite sides of its fastened middle portion.

CLYDE C. FOSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 337,164 Kidney Mar. 2, 1886 525,646 Cox Sept. 4, 1894 888,393 Dunning May 19, 1908 1,129,897 Owen, Jr Mar. 2, 1915 1,179,855 McKinnon Apr. 18, 1916 1,662,938 Richmond Mar. 20, 1928 2,243,752 Dunaway May 27, 1941 

